Agriculture, Forest, and Environment Minister Geeta Chaudhary has implemented stringent new standards for staff transfers and postings within the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) to end Kathmandu-centric assignments and improve governance.
Minister Geeta Chaudhary has brought in strict new rules to ensure good governance within the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). These new guidelines aim to make NARC more effective, especially in its research activities across Nepal’s various geographical regions.
The Minister is putting into effect the “Employee Transfer and Placement Management Standards, 2083.” This policy is set to change how NARC employees have been stationed for years. It will end the trend of staff staying concentrated only in Kathmandu and ensure they are assigned to offices in remote parts of the country too.
This decision by Minister Chaudhary is seen as a strong move to tackle the issues and irregularities that have been present in NARC. For a long time, some NARC employees managed to stay in Kathmandu purely based on political connections. There have even been cases where staff were appointed in Kathmandu and retired from the same location without ever serving elsewhere. However, Minister Chaudhary has stated that in the future, employees will be assigned based on the actual needs of different geographical areas. The days when employees without connections were appointed and retired from remote posts, while others stayed in the capital, are now over. She pointed out that a severe shortage of staff in remote offices, combined with many employees staying only in Kathmandu, has caused serious problems and unfairness in the institution’s research work, greatly affecting the research needed for Nepal’s diverse regions.
Under the new standards, employee transfers will now only happen after a specific time period. There will be no transfers between offices that fall into the same geographical category, and employees will no longer be allowed to stay only in Kathmandu. Additionally, the responsibility of an office head will be given based on leadership skills, work performance, how well they settle outstanding accounts, and their progress towards set goals. The new rules also state that employees currently facing departmental action will not be given head responsibilities (and will be removed if they already hold such a position). Responsibilities will also be assigned strictly based on seniority for each post. Furthermore, all new employees joining NARC will be posted to vacant positions outside of Kathmandu.
Minister Chaudhary express confidence that these new standards will put an end to the irregularities seen in NARC and make research more effective in meeting farmers’ needs. She emphasized, “This standard will provide a new direction to the institution, making employees committed to taking research services to remote areas. Delivering research results directly to farmers’ fields is our main responsibility.”
AI Disclaimer: This article was originally published on https://bajarkochirfar.com. It has been translated with the help of AI. For the best understanding and accurate facts, we recommend reading the original Nepali version.
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